Evaluation of a bench-scale membrane fouling protocol to determine fouling propensities of membranes during full-scale water reuse applications

2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1198-1204
Author(s):  
C. L. Bellona ◽  
A. Wuertle ◽  
P. Xu ◽  
J. E. Drewes
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Membrane System ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Effluent Organic Matter ◽  
Bench Scale ◽  
Testing Protocol ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Effluents

There is increasing interest in recycling wastewater effluents for augmentation of existing water supplies. The treatment of wastewater effluents by an integrated membrane system, such as microfiltration pre-treatment followed by reverse osmosis, is the industry standard for groundwater recharge or reservoir augmentation projects. Membrane fouling, especially effluent organic matter fouling, is a major challenge for water reuse applications employing high-pressure membranes. While fouling control through pre-treatment is an important aspect in membrane system design and operation, selecting low fouling membranes is an equally important aspect. Although recent research has begun to elucidate fouling mechanisms, little work has been performed to develop methods to pre-determine the effluent organic matter fouling propensities of high-pressure membranes so that low-fouling membranes can be pre-selected for reuse applications. The purpose of this study was to utilize a bench-scale testing protocol to test the relative effluent organic matter fouling propensities of commercially available NF and RO membranes when treating wastewater effluents. Bench-scale fouling test results were then compared to operational data generated during pilot- and full-scale membrane testing. Pilot- and full-scale testing using recycled water demonstrated that membranes foul at significantly different rates and that the extent of fouling could be estimated utilizing the proposed bench-scale testing protocol.

scholarly journals Recycling of Reverse Osmosis Concentrates to the Membrane Bioreactor in the MBR-RO Process for Water Reuse: effect on mbr performances

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thi Thu Nga Vu ◽  
Manon Montaner ◽  
Christelle Guigui
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Membrane System ◽  
Size Exclusion ◽  
Ro Concentrate ◽  
The Impact

Wastewater effluents can be treated by an integrated membrane system combining membrane bioreactor (MBR) and reverse osmosis (RO) for effective removal of micropollutants in the field of high-quality water reuse. However, discharging the RO concentrate waste stream directly into the natural environment could lead to serious problems due to the toxic components contained in the concentrates (micropollutants, salts, organic matter). A possible solution could be the recirculation of RO concentrate waste to the MBR. However, such an operation should be studied in detail since the recirculation of non-biodegradable organic matter or high concentrations of salts and micropollutants could directly or indirectly contribute to MBR membrane fouling and modification of the biodegradation activity. In this context, the work reported here focused on the recirculation of such concentrates in an MBR, paying specific attention to MBR membrane fouling. Lab-scale experiments were performed on a continuous MBR-RO treatment line with RO concentrate recirculation. The main goal was to determine the recovery of the RO unit and of the global process that maintained good process performance in terms of biodegradation and MBR fouling. The results demonstrate that the impact of the toxic flow on activated sludge depends on the recovery of the RO step but the same trends were observed regardless of the organic matter and salt contents of the concentrates: the concentration of proteins increased slightly. Size-exclusion high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-SEC) was employed to study the effects of RO concentrate on the production of protein-like soluble microbial products (SMPs) and demonstrated a significant peak of protein-like substances corresponding to 10-100 kDa and 100-1 000 kDa molecules in the supernatant. Thus a significant increase in the propensity for sludge fouling was observed, which could be attributed to the increased quantity of protein-like substances. Finally, the effect of the concentrate on sludge activity was studied and no significant effect was observed on biodegradation, indicating that the return of the concentrate to the MBR could be a good alternative.

scholarly journals Contribution of different effluent organic matter fractions to membrane fouling in ultrafiltration of treated domestic wastewater

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 204-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Zheng ◽  
J. P. Croue
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Domestic Wastewater ◽  
Molecular Size ◽  
Effluent Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Pore ◽  
Pore Opening ◽  
Organic Matter Fractions ◽  
Doc Load ◽  
Hydrophobic Acids

In the present work, effluent organic matter (EfOM) in treated domestic wastewater was separated into hydrophobic neutrals, colloids, hydrophobic acids, transphilic acids and neutrals and hydrophilic compounds. Their contribution to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was identified. Further characterization was conducted with respect to molecular size and hydrophobicity. Each isolated fraction was dosed into salt solution to identify its fouling potential in ultrafiltration (UF) using a hydrophilized polyethersulfone membrane. The results show that each kind of EfOM leads to irreversible fouling. At similar delivered DOC load to the membrane, colloids present the highest fouling effect in terms of both reversible and irreversible fouling. The hydrophobic organics show much lower reversibility than the biopolymers present. However, as they are of much smaller size than the membrane pore opening, they cannot lead to such severe fouling as biopolymers do. In all of the isolated fractions, hydrophilics show the lowest fouling potential. For either colloids or hydrophobic substances, increasing their content in feedwater leads to worse fouling. The co-effect between biopolymers and other EfOM fractions has also been identified as one of the mechanisms contributing to UF fouling in filtering EfOM-containing waters.

Effect of Two Stages Adsorption as Pre-Treatment of Natural Organic Matter Removal in Ultrafiltration Process for Peat Water Treatment

2020 ◽  
Vol 988 ◽  
pp. 114-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmud ◽  
Muthia Elma ◽  
Erdina Lulu Atika Rampun ◽  
Aulia Rahma ◽  
Amalia Enggar Pratiwi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Optimum Dose ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Filtration Process ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Ultra Filtration ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Two Stages

Natural Organic Matter (NOM) content in peat water is a major problem of membrane fouling in ultrafiltration (UF). For that, two stages adsorption as pre-treatment was employed to minimize the membrane fouling of NOM content. This research was carried out to investigate the effect of two stages adsorption on ultrafiltration performance for NOM removal that remains in peat water. This method was using powdered activated carbon (PAC) dosage of 80, 160, 240, 320, 400, 480, 560, 640, 720, 800, 880 dan 960 mg.L-1. Then, Polysulfone (Psf) material was employed for Ultra filtration process. Membrane was applied in a dead-end mode with various operating pressure (1; 1.5; 2; 2.5; 3 bar). As a results, the optimum dose of PAC was 800 mg L-1 with dosage ratio of 3/4:1/4. Two stages adsorption-UF PSf provided the range from 86.9 to 92.8% of KMnO4 and 74.1-88.1% of UV254. For the experimental condition of 3 bar, the highest flux was achieved up to 39.919 L h-1.m-2.

scholarly journals In-line coagulation assessment for ultrafiltration fouling reduction to treat secondary effluent for water reuse

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samia A. Aly ◽  
William B. Anderson ◽  
Peter M. Huck
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽  
Secondary Effluent ◽  
Membrane Performance ◽  
Coagulant Dosage ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Uf Membranes ◽  
Fouling Reduction ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Low pressure membranes are attracting attention for their potential to improve secondary effluent quality, but membrane fouling can limit their widespread applicability. In this study, in-line coagulation as pre-treatment to ultrafiltration (UF) was investigated using a bench-scale hollow fiber membrane at a constant flux of 33 L/m2 h. Membrane fouling was monitored by observing change in trans-membrane pressure when the membrane was fed with secondary effluent and in-line coagulated secondary effluent over a 24-h period. The impact of four coagulants at different dosages on reversible and irreversible membrane fouling and permeate quality was studied. It was found that in-line coagulation improved UF performance to varying degrees depending on coagulant type and dosage. Generally, higher reduction of fouling was achieved by increasing coagulant dosage within the 0.5–5.0 mg/L range investigated. Ferric-based coagulants were better than aluminum-based coagulants with respect to improving membrane performance for the secondary effluent investigated, even at low dosages (0.5 mg/L). Further investigations are required to determine how in-line coagulation affects removal of organic compounds through UF membranes.

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